1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a carbon nanotube-metal particle composite and a catalyst comprising the carbon nanotube-metal particle composite.
2. Description of Related Art
Carbon nanotube composited with metal particles is becoming a hot research subject. Carbon nanotube is an ideal metal particle catalyst carrier for the large surface area and high electric conductivity thereof. The composite having the carbon nanotubes composited with the metal catalyst has shown great promise of use in fields of electrochemical cell, fuel cell, and biomedicine.
When using the composite as a catalyst, the uniformity and a diameter of the metal particles loaded and dispersed on the surface of the carbon nanotubes directly influence catalytic performance of the composite. Typically, the smaller the diameter of the metal particles, the more uniform the metal particles are dispersed, the better the catalytic performance of the composite. However, metal particles easily aggregate when the diameter of the metal particles is small.
The composite is commonly fabricated by physical methods or chemical methods. Metal particles are sputtered on the surface of the carbon nanotubes by physical methods. Chemical methods include colloid method, solution reduction method, immersion method, electrochemical deposition method, or supercritical fluid method. However, it is difficult to have a balance between the small diameter and the dispersing uniformity of the metal particles on the surface of the carbon nanotubes with the methods mentioned above.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide a carbon nanotube-metal particle composite having a relatively small diameter of the metal particles meanwhile having the metal particles well dispersed.